San Jose Sharks: No Choke This Time for the Sharks

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San Jose Sharks Finally Eliminate Red Wings With 3-2 Win in Game 7

In a way, Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinal series between the San Jose Sharks and Detroit Red Wings bore an odd resemblance to the series itself. The Sharks took a solid lead early on, but the Red Wings refused to go away.

Well, the Sharks finally put a stop to that, winning Game 7 by the final of 3-2. It took a a little longer than they would have liked, but they are headed to the conference finals for the second year in a row.

Faced with the dread fate of becoming just the fourth team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 series lead, the Sharks came out guns blazing in the first period. Devin Setoguchi scored on a power play with a little less than eight minutes to go, and Logan Couture scored with less than a minute left to put the Sharks up 2-0.

As time expired in the first period, HP Pavilion was rocking. Clearly, the Sharks were on their way.

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Alas, it never was going to be that easy. The Red Wings cut the lead to 2-1 when Henrik Zetterberg scored in the second period, and they proceeded to outshoot the Sharks 17-6 in the period.

Thanks to some brilliant work by Antti Niemi, the Sharks weathered the stormed, and they would go up 3-1 in the third when Patrick Marleau scored on a rebound with 7:47 to play. It was his first point of the series.

Unfortunately, San Jose's two-goal lead didn't last long, as Pavel Datsyuk closed the gap to 3-2 less than two minutes later.

After that, things got increasingly crazier as the period raced to a close. Niemi was under constant attack, and knowing the Sharks, it seemed like it was just a matter of time before the Red Wings were going to tie the score.

Somehow, Niemi let nothing past him, and the period ended. Like that, the Sharks had survived a Red Wing attack.

In looking at the stat sheet, it's actually pretty amazing the Sharks didn't choke. The Red Wings took 10 more shots on goal, and they had one more power play opportunity than the Sharks. A single slip-up, and we're probably talking about the Red Wings making history.

Instead, we're talking about the Sharks not choking. Any day we get to do that is a good day.

Now, let's see if the Sharks can take the next step and actually make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. Game 1 against the Vancouver Canucks is on Sunday.

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